1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a printed label producing apparatus and a label producing method for printing print on a label tape and creating a printed label.
2. Description of the Related Art
In prior art, there has been proposed a label producing apparatus that produces a printed label by storing a tape that serves as a print-receiving material in a roll shape inside a tape cartridge, printing desired print on the tape as the tape is fed out from the roll, and cutting the tape with print with a cutter.
For such a label producing apparatus, a technique has been proposed in which a light-absorbing black mark is printed in a predetermined position in the feeding direction of the tape in advance, and a mark sensor capable of optically detecting this black mark is provided to detect the position of the tape in the feeding direction. The above-described mark sensor used in such a case is generally a reflective sensor comprising a light projecting device and a light receiving device, and detects the reflected light of the light projected from the light projecting device using the light receiving device. The behavior of the black mark that exhibits a lower amount of reflected light compared to other sections is then used to detect the passing of the black mark at the mark sensor.
Nevertheless, often there are cases where the mark sensor is disposed near the tape discharging exit of the label producing apparatus in order to carry out this role. As a result, external light may enter the housing from the discharging exit of the housing depending on the format of use of the user, such as indoor or outdoor use in a bright location, for example, affecting detection of the black mark by the above-described optical technique. With such an arrangement, a decrease in detection accuracy of the tape position with respect to the tape feeding direction occurs, resulting in variance of the feeding distance and a shift in the printing position, possibly decreasing the quality of the printed label.